Improvement in blow-guns and arrows



L. C. WHITE.

BLOW-GUN AND ARROW.

ATTORN EYS r u V Q m .V W AWN W m m M. m d

J WM? UNITED STATES LUTHER C. WHITE, OF JASPER, TEXAS.

.I MPROVEMENT lN B LOW-GUNS AND ARROWS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. l 86,651, dated January23, 1877; application filed October 14, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LUTHER 0. WHITE, of Jasper, in the county of Jasperand State of Texas, have invented a new and valuable Improvement inBlow-Guns and Arrows; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull,

' and Fig.2 is a front elevation of thesame.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of my arrow, part sec tional. Figs. 4 and 5 aretransverse sectional views of my blow-gun, and Fig. 6 is a detail viewof my arrow.

This invention relates to blow-guns and mis siles for the same. Thenature of said invention consists, first, in the peculiar constructionand shape of the bore of the blow-gun, hereinafter particularlydescribed. It also consists in an arrow-shank having a floss of cottonor similar material secured to it near one end by winding a cord or itsequivalent in a double coil about the said shank andfloss. It consists,

' finally, in providing the arrow-shank with helical grooves or notches,to receive the fast ening-cord and prevent the same from slipping.

In Fig. 1, A designates a section of the blowgun tube, which may beeither of wood, metal, india-rubber, or any other suitable material,wood, however, being preferable. Said tube may have a tapering exterior,or one which is everywhere of the same diameter, as preferred; but thediameter of the bore tapers from the month end outward at the rate ofone-sixteenth of an inch to the foot, or approximately'so. Said tube maybe made in separate sections, each being a foot or more in length, oritmay be madein onelong piece. It may also be constructed in longitudinalsemi-cylindrical sections, as shown in Fig. 4. in any case, itisprovided with annular strengthening-bands ca, which may serve ascouplings also. These strengthening-bands may, however, be dis pensedwith without departing from the spirit of my invention. B designates anarrow or dart, which is provided with a head, b, and insertedlongitudinally in the mouth end of tubeA. Near the rear end of the shankof said dart anair-catching floss is secured thereto, as hereinafterdescribed, tapering in size gradually from rear to front.

When the operators mouth is applied to the said tube, the air from hislungs strikes against the rear of said floss, and drives said dart orarrow forward out of the tube with considerable force. Said floss ispreferably constructed of the soft down of the silk-cotton tree. Saidarrow or dart may be either of metal or wood. Instead ofsilk-cotton-treedown, ordinary cotton may be employed.

If tube A'were constructed with a bore of unvarying diameter, the forceof the blast would be lessened, since, before the arrow would reach theouter end of the said tube, a certain amount of air would be blown pastit, unless the bore were made so small as to cause too much friction. 0nthe other hand, if the degree of taper for each foot were much greaterthan one-sixteenth, the mouth end of the bore would necessarily be toolarge to allow the entire force of the blast to be expended upon thefloss and the arrow, or else the friction at the outer end of the tubewould be so great as to make the blow-gun almost inoperative. Manyexperiments have demonstrated that the degree of taper which 1 havegivento the bore of tube A, and which is described above, is the very bestthat can be adopted for securing a long and strong flight of the saiddart or arrow.

Each of said arrows is constructed as follows: By the use of twoordinary cottoncards, 1 separate into filaments the mass of cotton (orits equivalent) which is to be manufactored into floss C. A cord orthread, D, is next looped twice aboutthe shank of arrow or dart A, justin front of the point where the front of floss O is attached. Saidthread is then wound backward toward the rear end of said arrow. whereit is looped again to prevent it from slipping. Said thread is thendriven into the wood of the arrow, (if said arrow is constructed ofwood,) so as to form helical indentations d d. (Shown in Fig. 6.) If

a metal arrow-shank is used, said' helical in dentations orscrew-threads are made in the same; in either case, they operate toprevent the said thread or cord from slipping. Said thread is then woundback toward its startingpoint, the finely-divided cotton (or itsequivalent) being interposed in successive layers between said threadand shank during the Winding. The grain of said cotton lies nearlylongitudinal with said arrow-shank, :and when the attaching is complete,the said cotton is carded back toward the rear end. This gives to it thetapering shape shown in the drawings, and enables it to easily enter thesaid tube. 7

It is easier and cheaper to manufacture'the said tube in twosemi-cylindrical sections than in one piece.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A blow-gun having a bore which tapers from the month end outward atthe vratio ot' one-sixteenth of an inch to each foot, substantially asand for the purpose set forth.

2. An arrow or dart, B, for a blow-gun, provided with a floss of cottonor its equivalent,

secured to said dart by ahelically-wound cord or thread, substantiallyas set forth.

3. An arrow or dart, B, provided with helical grooves or indentations,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The process of constructing a dart for a blow-gun, consisting, first,of separating cotton or its equivalents into filaments or smalldivisions, then securing a cord to a shank and winding it about the sametoward the rear end thereof, then winding said cord back again oversuccessive layers of the cotton,'and finally securing said cord to theshank again, and carding said cotton backward, substantially as setforth.

In testimony that I claim theabove I have hereunto subscribed my name inthe presence of two witnesses.

LUTHER 0. WHITE.

Witnesses J'oHN F. AGKER, J r., GEORGE E. UPHAM.

